About...For those of you who do not know what these are about, they run for generally 12+ hours and we all sit down (at various times) to taste a range of whiskies and share our notes and comments on the forum. Have a look in the Live Tasting forum for past events.

They are a great way to meet people on the forum, chat about your experiences and learn something new about the whiskies you have, and we all end up having a good time.

Please feel free to join in and post any comments or tasting notes you have. Tasting notes can be added using the Tasting Note tab on the postings page. (Note, the Age field on the tasting must be a number such as 7,9,10,18)

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

Nose: Sweet with hints of peat, but the peating level in this is very low. That doesn't detract from the quality of the dram though. The weight of barley sugar on the nose is intoxicating (no wait, maybe that's the alcohol). There is orange and lemon along with lapsang souchong tea. The way it all hangs together is brilliant.Palate: Massive barley sugar, seashells and wisps of smoke, crystalised fruits interwoven with subtle spices.Finish: Long, mouthwatering, heavenly.Comment: Brilliant Brora as usual, but its getting almost impossible to find let alone afford these days. Sob.

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

Nose: Bung cloth and rice pudding, cocoa, citrus but its submerged in the creosote. No shortage of peat here. Earth, hemp and iodine. Simply massive.Palate: Someone has set a peat fire in my mouth. The peating level here is huge. There is barley there but it is smouldering.Finish: Glowing embers that linger for ages, before fading to ash. When the fire fades the barley returns.Comment: One of the heaviest peating levels I can remember in a Brora. A peat-freaks dream.

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

Last one of the night......Expression - BrorageddonYear - March 1972Age - 30yoABV - 50.8%Cask / Bottle No. - 983 / 1 of 201Colour - Polished Mahogany Nose - a deep sherriness infused with peat , cola cube sweets , a deep oakiness as well . A perfect sherry casked whisky , no naughty nastiness lying in wait for the unsuspecting nose.....Palate - Pretty much the same but the peat seems to cover the palate , the sherry seems to be at the front of the palate vanish over most of it and returns at the rear ! Finish - A very dry sherry finish interlaced with the peat .Comments - Bottled February 2003 for the Plowed Society , My favourite of the 3 plowed bottlings i've had .

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

Nose: More power! What an in your face dram. I love it. Dark bitter stewed oranges, heaps of tannins, prunes, coffee grounds and cocoa. And ocassionally through all this intensity there are some sugary vanilla notes. I've sniffed and gone to heaven.Palate: More stewed very bitter oranges, but tinged with a little sulphur. Leathery and delicious. Finish: An explosion of spices that gives waves of sensation that keep on coming for ages. The coffee lingers until the end.Comment: Forget a double Espresso, this is the way to start the day.

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

This one completely surprised me. I have a Brora Signatory sample that I got from Sean (thanks Sean!), and it had a sharp, farmy nose with tons of mint as I recall. I'll try that one again tomorrow. As for this year's special release:

Nose: Sweet fruit and vanilla. Also some fresh wood. Maybe a hint of the farminess from the Signatory, but subtle and in the background. Is that a hint of smoke? It's fresh and edgy for a 30 year.

Palate: A thick mouth feel with fruits remaining and some nice peppery spice.

Finish: A little maltiness showing up now, with more wood, and finally some smoke coming through. Kind of like the subtle smoke that comes with the younger Highland Parks.

Wow, this is drinkable stuff! I was caught completely off guard. At $150, I would be all over a bottle of this. At $360, well, I'd need to be in a better financial situation. I sure am glad I got to try it, though.

Re: Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

Expression - Brora Douglas Laing Platinum 1970-2002 32yo 58.4%Year - 1970Age - 32yoABV - 58.4%Cask / Bottle No. - / 242 of 297Colour - Bright Gold / Golden SyrupNose - Fairly light and Maritime on the nose at first , then Iodine and pepper .Palate - Salty and peppery on the palate , quite hot , this one is closer to a "Skye" whisky than an "Islay" one . Again an incredible mouth feel . Finish - Long and peppery , very peppery ! Comments - Blind , i bet most people would go "Aah.....Talisker!" sorry but it would have to be an incredible Talisker to match up to this !!!! How many times can you say another Incredible 1970's Brora...... ?